Highlights

  • Modern Warfare 3's Zombies borrows from the Outbreak formula, offering larger maps and objectives for survival and extraction.
  • Season 2 Reloaded brought new additions to Zombies, but failed to address core issues or significantly shake up the mode.
  • Zombies in MW3 lacks a distinct identity.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 has faced a lot of criticism due to its alleged lack of a unique identity, with many of its experiences borrowing from past CoD titles. As a reboot of the original Modern Warfare franchise, it is no wonder that the campaign and core multiplayer experiences of the title feel so familiar, yet the presence of Zombies in MW3 is something that has always stuck out.

Zombies within Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 marks the first time the popular mode has appeared in the MW IP, and it adopts the newer Zombies formula that sets it apart from the original iterations of the survival experience.

Despite the unique take that MW3's Zombies possesses, the excitement around the mode is already dying down, with it being clear that Activision needs to make some changes to reinvigorate interest. Some changes recently came to the mode with the launch of Season 2 Reloaded, but they fail to address the issues of the mode and may have come far too late to make a noticeable impact.

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Modern Warfare 3 Season 2 Reloaded's Zombies Needed More Attention to Truly Thrive

Zombies in Modern Warfare 3 borrows from the Outbreak Zombies formula of 2020's Black Ops Cold War, which offers a huge departure from the classic round-based Zombies gameplay of older franchise releases. The Outbreak formula instead takes Zombies to much larger maps with open-world gameplay, with players usually having to complete objectives to advance to new areas.

This is largely how Zombies appears in Modern Warfare 3, with up to 24 players teaming up in a single lobby with a focus on survival and eventual extraction. While this expanded take on the Outbreak framework was originally enticing, MW3's Zombies has already lost a lot of steam that MW3's recent Season 2 Reloaded did not really address. In terms of Zombies, Modern Warfare 3's Season 2 Reloaded brought the following changes:

  • New Story Mission
  • New Dark Aether Rift
  • New Battle Warlord: Keres
  • New Schematics: Mags of Holding, Blood Burner Key, and V-R11 Wonder Weapon

While these new additions are good overall for Modern Warfare 3's Zombies, they are all quite predictable and do not shake up the core experience of the mode significantly. The Outbreak Zombies approach is already quite controversial as is and the Season 2 Reloaded changes do not justify MW3's Outbreak formula any further.

Modern Warfare 3's Zombies Still Feels Too Familiar

The main map of Modern Warfare 3 Zombies is Urzikstan, which is also the core map of Warzone, and this makes it difficult for Zombies to have its own distinct identity. While Season 2 Reloaded introductions like a new Dark Aether Rift offer some new surroundings for players to explore, it seems time that Activision should commit to offering a brand-new large-scale playable experience for Zombies.

A handful of new schematics and a singular new warlord slightly beef up Modern Warfare 3's Zombies experience, but none of these changes are arguably enough to keep long-term players engaged. More sweeping MW3 Zombies changes have been desired from the community since November 2023, and the latest batch of additions has come too late and still falls short of transforming the mode to the level it needs to be at currently.